Cleaning apparatus



N v- 1952 J. K. FLINCHBAUGH CLEANING APPARATUS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 FiledFeb. 21, 1947 INVENTOR. John K. fiirzcllazgk BY ZW..Q;% E14 HTTORNEYS.

1952 J. K. FLINCHBAUGH CLEANING APPARATUS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Feb.21, 1947 INVENTOR- LT 0/: n. K. fiz'ncllavgZ. BY aw,

Patented Nov. 25, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLEANING APPARATUSJohn K. Flinchbaugh, Port Huron, Mich.

Application February 21, 1947, :Serial N 0. 730,107

8 Claims.

This invention relates generally to cleaning apparatus, and moreparticularly to such apparatus for efficiently cleaning small parts withcleaning fluid.

In the past, it has been a diflicult and arduous job to clean smallparts such as electric motors and the like when they are returned forrepair work and overhauling. This job has generally been accomplished byan individual using a brush and cleaning fluid and scrubbing the variousparts to clean them. This has resulted in dirty cleaning fluid gettingon ,the individual doing the cleaning and being spread around thesurrounding area.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide improved meansfor cleaning grease and grime from small parts such as electric motorsand the like so that the parts will be more efficiently cleaned in arelatively short time, and so that the cleaning fluid will not be spreadin the accompanying area.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a closed cabinet inwhich the articles to be cleaned may be placed and rotated during thecleaning operation while the operator stands on the outside of thecabinet and sprays the articles to be cleaned, through a hose, the freeend of which is removably and rotatably supported in a wall of thecabinet.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a cabinet ofthe aforementioned type having a window in one wall so that the operatormay watch the articles being cleaned so as to be able to direct thespray of cleaning fluid thereon and be able to tell when the article hasbeen completely cleaned.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a cabinet ofthe aforementioned type constructed so that the cleaning fluid Will bepumped under pressure from a tank mounted therein, so that the cleaningfluid will be filtered and returned to the storage tank, and so that anyfumes from the cleaning fluid will be carried out of the cabinet througha flue.

It is a still further object to provide a cleaning apparatus of theaforementioned type which is simple in construction, inexpensive tomanufacture, and efiicient in operation.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cleaning apparatus of thisinvention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view partially in section .2 and partially inelevation taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig.1';

Fig. 4. is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view partially in section and partially inelevation taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged elevational view i1lustrating the variousrotatable positions of the nozzle end of a hose within a cabinet wall-ofthis invention.

Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen that the apparatus ofthis invention comprises a generally rectangular shaped cabinet,generally indicated at 7, which has a frame formed by a plurality ofangle iron members, and a sheet metal skin secured thereto. The cabinetis provided with a pair of vertically swinging lower doors 9, hingedrespectively at the opposite sides of the cabinet, and an upper door Hhinged at one side of the cabinet. It will be noted that the door H isinclined inwardly and upwardly, for a reason which will later appear.

As can be seen in Fig. 4, a turntable I! having a spindle I9 isrotatably supported on a transverse frame member 2| in a conventionalmanner by means of a plate 23, an antifriction bearing 25, and a thrustbearing 21. The lower end of the turntable spindle l9 has a conventionalpulley 29 fixedly secured thereto by any suitable means. The pulley 29is connected by means of a belt 3| to a pulley 33 connected to asuitable electric motor 35 mounted on the interior of the cabinet. Theturntable is supported adjacent its outer periphery by means of fourcircumferen tially spaced rollers 31 mounted on bolts 39 supported in aring 4| which surrounds the turntable. The ring 4| is fixedly connectedto a perforated plate 43 which is parallel with the frame member 2| andis supported by brackets 45 welded or otherwise suitably secured to thecabinet.

Positioned on the floor 41 of the cabinet, as shown by Fig. 5, is acleaning fluid storage tank 49 within which a supply of cleaning fluidis stored. This tank 49 is disposed immediately behind the oppositelyhinged lower doors 9 of the cabinet so that by opening the doors 9,ready access to the storage tank may be had. Connected to the under sideof the frame member 2| is a trough-like member 5| which has inclinedsides so as to direct the flow of cleaning fluid which is sprayed intothe upper part of the cabinet, as will be hereinafter described, backinto the storage tank. Below the trough-like element El and adjacent theupper end of the storage tank 49, a pair or vertically spaced filters 53are provided which are supported on the sides of the tank 49 by suitablebracket means 55 and are removable through slots in the front wall ofthe tank.

Positioned on the floor 41 of the cabinet adjacent to the tank 49 is aconventional fluid pump 51 and its driving motor 59. A conduit BIextends through a wall of the tank 49 adjacent the lower end thereof toconnect the pump 51 with the fluid within the tank. A conduit 63 isconnected to the outlet of the pump and extends, as can be seen in Fig.5, transversely across the cabinet behind the fluid tank 49 and passesthrough the left-hand side wall of the cabinet I. A flexible hose 65 isconnected to the free end of the conduit 63 through suitable couplings,and the opposite end of the hose 65 is provided with a nozzle 67.

Secured adjacent the lower edge of the upper door H by means of rivetsII, as shown by Fig. 3, is an angle iron strip '13. It will be noticedthat the lower end of the door II overlaps the upper end of the cabinetwall I2, and the strip 13 aids in preventing leakage of cleaning fluidfrom the under side of the door. A channel element T5 is positionedbelow the door against the outer surface of the Wall "12 to act as atrough to carry away any fluid which may escape through the under sideof the door II. This channel element 75 is conventionally welded to theouter surface of the wall 72.

The center of the door II is apertured, as at Tl, and a ring element E9having a front flange 8| therearcund is positioned in the aperture 11,and the flange 81 is welded to the outer face of the door as indicatedat 83. The inner periphery of the ring 19, as can be seen in Fig. 3, isformed with a shallow lip 85 around the outer face thereof andimmediately behind the lip 85 the ring is formed with a circumferentialgroove 8?. A ring element 2'39 having a radially projecting flange d! isfitted into the ring is, with the ring flange 9| flush with the rim lip85. Adjacent the edge of the ring flange SI a plurality of rollers 93are provided on the latter which ride in the groove 8! in the rim. Therollers 93 are mounted on rivets 95 which pass through the flange 9!. Itwill be noted that the outer periphery of the flange 9| does not contactthe inner periphery of the rim lip 85 due to the positioning of therollers 93 within the groove 81. The ring 89 is also formed with arearwardly extending circumferential flange 97 which has a ring-shapedplate 99 welded to the outer periphery at the rear end thereof. Thefront face of the ringshaped plate 98 abuts against a radial flange IOIof the ring 19. In this way, the ring 89 is rotatably mounted in thering 19 but is not free to move laterally with respect thereto.

The inner periphery of the ring 89 is cut back to provide an annularrecess I03, which receives a window sealing element or material I55there in and a circular window I81. The window It? is held against thering 89 by a suitable ring I08 which is secured to the ring 89 by meansof screws I69. Due to the inclination of the door II, previously noted,the window Ill! will likewise be inclined, and therefore will permit theturntable, in the cabinet, to be easily viewed through the window.Depending from the upper wall of the cabinet, adjacent the door II, arelights I I0 which illuminate the turntable to like- 4 wise allow it tobe easily viewed through the window I01.

Adjacent the Window ring I08, the ring 89 is provided with an apertureIII adapted to receive the free end of the hose nozzle 61 therein. Theinner and outer faces of the ring 89 adjacent the aperture III arebeveled, as at II3, to permit the nozzle 61 to be rocked in anydirection within the aperture III for a reason which will be hereinafterbrought out. Adjacent the door II, as viewed in Fig. 1, the front wallof the cabinet is provided with an aperture H5 in which the nozzel 61 ofthe hose may be inserted when not in use to provide a convenient placeto hang the hose.

As viewed in Fig. 2, the articles to be cleaned such as the variousparts of an electric motor or the like are placed on top of theturntable I? and are indicated at I". These articles III generally areheavy enough so that when the cleaning fluid is sprayed into the cabinetthrough the hose, they will not move or slide from the turntable.However, if relatively small and lightweight articles are to be cleaned,it may be necessary to hold the latter on the turntable. As seen inFigs. 1 and 2, the left-hand wall of the cabinet I is provided with asliding door I I9 which slides in ways 12 I. A handle I23 is providedfor sliding the door IIQ rearwardly in the ways I2I so that the operatormay reach through the. aperture I25 in the wall of the cabinet, when thedoor is open, and hold small workpieces on the turntable while at thesame time directing the spray of cleaning fluid from the hose.

Extending upwardly through the top wall of the cabinet I is an outletpipe or flue I21 which is adapted to conduct the cleaning fluid fumesout of the cabinet and out of the room in which the cabinet is placed.The flue I21 has a fan I2 mounted therein which is driven through a beltby a motor ISI. This fan I29 draws the fumes out of the cabinet andcauses them to be blown out through the flue I27.

In operation, the door II of the cabinet is opened and the articles tobe cleaned are positioned on the turntable I1. The door II is thenclosed so as to completely enclose the turntable and workpieces withinthe cabinet I. The motor 35 which drives the worktable I! is thenstarted causing the worktable I1 to be rotated in a horizontal plane andthus rotate the articles H1. The pump 51 is then started which pumps thecleaning fluid into the hose 65, and the flue fan I29 is started. Thenozzle 81 on the free end of the hose is inserted within the apertureIII in the rotatable ring 89 and the nozzle 6'! is opened and thecleaning fluid is sprayed onto the articles to be cleaned. The operatorby watching through the window I01 can then accurately direct thecleaning fluid spray onto the articles IIl. By applying side pressure onthe nozzle 61, the ring 89 can be rotated in the door I I and thus willcarry the nozzle end of the hose 65 to any desired position in the planeof substantially vertical rotation of the ring 89, as shown in Fig. 6.Due to the fact that the aperture III in the ring 89 is of a largerdiameter than the end of the nozzle 61 and likewise due to the beveledinner and outer faces of the ring adjacent the aperture III, the nozzle61 can be rocked within the ring aperture III to further aid in thedirecting of the cleaning fluid spray to various sides and parts of thearticles carried on the worktable. In this way, the operator can quicklyand efliciently clean the workpieces within the cabinet without sprayinghimself with cleaning fluid and without having the fumes from thecleaning fluid spread around the area in which he is working.

I claim:

1. In a cleaning apparatus, a cabinet, a horizontal turntable rotatablymounted within said cabinet, means for rotating said turntable, a ringrotatably mounted in one wall of said cabinet, a vision window sealinglysecured in said ring for movement therewith, flexible hose means forconducting cleaning fluid, and means for pumping cleaning fluid underpressure through said hose means, said ring having an aperture thereinadapted to receive the free end of said hose means whereby said ring andsaid window may be rotated either clockwise or counterclockwise relativeto said turntable by the application of manual pressure on said hose endto carry said hose end therewith.

2. In a cleaning apparatus, a cabinet, a cleaning fluid storage tankwithin said cabinet, a horizontal turntable rotatably supported in saidcabinet above said storage tank, filter means disposed between saidturntable and said storage tank, means for rotating said turntable,flexible hose means connected to said storage tank, pump means forpumping cleaning fluid under pressure from said storage tank throughsaid flexible hose, a ring rotatably mounted in one wall of saidcabinet, and a window sealingly secured in said ring for movementtherewith, said ring having an aperture therein adapted to freelyreceive the remote end of said hose means whereby said ring and saidwindow may be rotated either clockwise or counterclockwise within saidwall by the application of manual side pressure on the remote end ofsaid hose to carry said hose end therewith.

3. In a cleaning apparatus, a cabinet, a cleaning fluid storage tanksupported in the lower portion of said cabinet, a horizontal turntablerotatably mounted in the upper portion of said cabinet and adapted tosupport articles to be cleaned thereon, means for filtering cleaningfluid positioned within said cabinet between said turntable and saidstorage tank, a flexible hose, pump means connecting said hose to saidstorage tank, a substantially vertical door in said cabinet permittingaccess to said turntable, said door being formed with an opening, aring, means mounting said ring within said opening for rotation relativeto said door, a window sealingly secured in said ring, said ring havingan aperture therein adapted to freely receive the remote end I of saidhose means whereby said ring may be rotated either clockwise orcounterclockwise relative to said door by the application of manual sidepressure on said hose, and means for carrying away cleaning fluid fumesfrom the interior of said cabinet.

4. A cleaning apparatus comprising a substantially closed cabinet, meansfor supporting articles to be cleaned within said cabinet, said cabinetincluding a wall portion having an opening therein, a ring defining acentral opening and having an aperture therethrough spaced from saidcentral opening and adapted to receive a nozzle for directing cleaningmaterial onto said articles, means mounting said ring within saidopening in said wall portion for rotation relative to said wall portionabout the axis of said ring whereby said aperture may be moved along anarcuate path for positioning said nozzle relative to said articles, andmeans closing the central opening defined by said ring.

5. A cleaning apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said last namedmeans is mounted on said ring for rotation therewith.

6. A cleaning apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said last namedmeans includes a transparent portion providing a vision window.

7. A cleaning apparatus comprising a substantially closed cabinet, meansfor supporting articles to be cleaned within said cabinet, said cabinetincluding a wall portion having an opening therein, an element mountedWithin said opening for rotation relative to said wall portion about theaxis of said element and having an aperture therethrough disposed inspaced relation to the center of rotation of said element, said aperturebeing adapted to receive a nozzle for directing cleaning material ontosaid articles and movable relative to said element for changing thedirection of discharge of said material from said nozzle relative tosaid element, said element being effective upon rotary movement thereofto move said aperture along an arcuate path for positioning said nozzlerelative to said articles.

8. A cleaning apparatus as defined in claim 7, including means defininga vision window through which an operator may observe the cleaning ofsaid articles.

JOHN K. FLlNCHBAUGI-I.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 488,624 Brewster Dec. 27, 1892783,301 McMillan Feb. 21, 1905 972,736 Tippit Oct. 11, 1910 1,601,147Ruemelin Sept. 28, 1926 1,633,669 Irvin June 28, 1927 1,693,885Butterworth Dec. 4, 1928 1,741,329 Montgomery Dec. 31, 1929 2,078,104Stanley Apr. 20, 1937 2,302,299 Court Nov. 17, 1942 2,385,150 Miller lSept. 18, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 315,446 Great BritainJuly 12, 1929

1. IN A CLEANING APPARATUS, A CABINET, A HORIZONTAL TURNTABLE ROTATABLYMOUNTED WITHIN SAID CABINET, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID TURNTABLE, A RINGROTATABLY MOUNTED IN ONE WALL OF SAID CABINET, A VISION WINDOW SEALINGLYSECURED IN SAID RING FOR MOVEMENT THEREWITH, FLEXIBLE HOSE MEANS FORCONDUCTING CLEANING FLUID, AND MEANS FOR PUMPING CLEANING FLUID UNDERPRESSURE THROUGH